05/18/2018

Both Spouses Need to Know About the Finances

In the last few decades, women have made tremendous strides in the workplace. However, most married women still leave financial matters to their husbands. That can be a problem in their elder years.

Women today can do almost anything in their professional lives. There are very few boundaries left that women have not been able to cross.

A few decades ago, that was not the case when husbands made the money and the important financial decisions for their families. However, despite the strides women have made professionally, in most families, it is still the husband who makes all the important financial decisions.

That can lead to big problems for women later in life, as Bloomberg reports in "Rise of 'Gray Divorce' Forces Financial Reckoning After 50."

Most married women will outlive their spouses. They might not even have a spouse to outlive, because divorces for people over 50 are becoming increasingly common. The result? An elderly woman who relied on her husband to handle their financial decisions, may suddenly be forced to do so for herself. They often make expensive mistakes in the process.

The best thing for everyone would be for married couples to make important financial decisions together. That way neither of them will need to learn how to handle finances in their elder years.